Thursday, April 18, 2013

How To Make Your Own Kombucha {while living in an RV}

I've had lots of friends ask me how I make kombucha over the years. Instead of typing it out in another email, I figured I'd do a blog post, and refer everyone here in the future. Please excuse the funny placement of my items...I currently live in an RV with less than 2' of counter space, so my stove doubles as a counter. :)
Here goes!

This is what you'll need:

• One gallon of spring or filtered water.

• A tea kettle.

• A large bowl and wooden spoon. Do not use metal or plastic bowls or spoons. Or at least don't let metal, and preferably not plastic, touch your finished kombucha.

• A large glass jar. I use some that are 3-liter jars, and some that are one gallon.

• One cup of white sugar. I personally think its important to buy organic sugar, since most sugar is now GMO. If you think it's crazy that this healthy drink is made using a CUP of sugar, you're right! But the sugar is necessary to feed the SCOBY (I'll tell you about that in a bit) during the fermentation process. You can also use honey, but it's a lot more expensive. I personally just got over the horror of using so much white sugar once I researched kombucha, and learned why the sugar is important, and how it is used up by the end of the process. It's SCOBY food, and if fermented long enough, there will only be trace amounts of sugar remaining.

• Five tea bags, using a mixture of green and black tea. The ideal ratio is to use three bags of black, two bags of green, but you can mix and match, or use just one type. It does need to be caffeinated tea, as the SCOBY uses the caffein for food also. If you choose to use green tea exclusively, you should eventually cycle in some black tea, as your SCOBY needs the tannins from the black tea.I recently read this article about commercial tea bags, and I will soon be switching to using only loose leaf tea. I will probably use about 2 tsp of green tea, and 3 tsp of black tea.

• A cloth and rubber band to cover your jar while the tea ferments. I use an old cloth napkin or a kitchen towel.

DIRECTIONS:
Boil as much water in your tea kettle as you can. Don't fill it any higher than the bottom of the spout, or it could burn you when you open it.

Pour the hot water into your large bowl where you have placed the five tea bags and one cup of sugar.

Stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Leave sitting until it gets to room temperature.

Once it's at room temperature, remove the tea bags and pour the tea into your large glass jar.
Fill the jar up with fresh, room temperature or tepid water, leaving about 2" at the top. Pour in some starter tea from your last batch (if you don't have any, that's ok). Place the SCOBY in the jar.

A SCOBY is a "Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast". It's not technically a mushroom, even though it's commonly referred to as one. It's a funny looking thing. Here's mine in a jar, demonstrating the proper way to store a SCOBY. They can last for months in the fridge if they are covered in kombucha (this kombucha is also what I use as my "starter tea" when I pour in my SCOBY...I just pour the entire contents of the jar in).

If you are in need of a SCOBY, you can try growing your own from two store-bought bottles of kombucha (unflavored). Just leave the kombucha on the counter, covered with a cloth, until you see a SCOBY form. I got my first SCOBY from someone on my local freecycle. I personally don't think you should pay for these, as anyone who makes kombucha quickly has them coming out their ears! I am hay to share one with people who are local to me, and I've even been known to mail them to friends using the US Postal Service. Just ask around...natural minded friends and neighbors. If you absolutely cannot find one, you can always buy one here.

Once the jar is filled almost to the top, and your SCOBY is in it, place a cloth on top with a rubber band around the top to hold it on. This is just so no bugs or anything gets in there while its fermenting, and so it can breath. You don't want to put the lid on your jar...it needs the air during fermentation.

Place it in a location that is warm, but not hot. A dark cupboard is sometimes suggested, but I always have left mine out on the counter, and it has worked well for me. Just don't stick it by a sunny window or anything.

If you've never had kombucha, or don't prefer the taste, you can acquire the taste. I hated it at first. What I did to acquire the taste, was to ferment it for the minimum time at first. That is five days. There will still be some sugar in the kombucha, but it's ok if that's what it takes to acquire the taste. I gradually increased my fermentation time by one day. I really liked the sweet drink at first, and once I worked all the way up to a 14 day ferment, I still liked it! Typically I ferment for 7-10 days, but you can go as long as 14. It will taste more vinegary the longer you ferment, and sweeter the shorter you ferment. There are more health benefits to a longer ferment, but even a shorter one is good. It's better than drinking soda!

Once it's done fermenting, you can take the SCOBY out. You will have a "baby" growing on top of the "mother" SCOBY. The baby will be whitish, and look so pretty and new. The mama will be a little darker, but will still work fine. Unless the SCOBY turns a dark brown, or grows mold on it, you can keep using it over and over. Pretty soon you'll have them coming out your ears!
Here's a picture of the top of my jar (the baby) after nine days of fermenting.

Here you can see the mama and the baby that I'm separating. The baby is touching my thumb.

It is ok to leave the mama and baby attached, and just use a thicker SCOBY for the next ferment (it will ferment a bit faster). Or, you can eat it (its really good for you!). Some people put them in the blender, in a smoothie. I've given them to my chickens many times. My chickens love them, and it makes my eggs more healthy!

THE SECOND FERMENT:
This part is optional, as your kombucha is perfectly good to drink the way it is. But if you'd like to flavor it, or make it naturally carbonated, you'll want to do a second ferment.
Our go-to flavor is strawberry, although we've used every fruit (and combination of fruit) under the sun. Don't try banana though--that one doesn't work. Some we have done:

Blueberry
Raspberry
Blackberry
Peach
Rhubarb (especially strawberry rhubarb!)
Pineapple
Mango
Papaya
Pear
Orange
It is best to use fresh or frozen fruit, not dried. You can either put the fruit in whole, or blend it with some kombucha, then pour it back into the large jar. I like the way the whole fruit looks (it's really pretty), but I think the kombucha takes on the taste better when the fruit is blended.
I buy organic frozen strawberries in bulk, and keep them in my freezer. This is about how many strawberries I use for a gallon of kombucha. You definitely don't need this much fruit, but my kids love it this way, so I stick with it.

Before blending, make sure to pour some kombucha in with the fruit to create a frothy drink. Then pour it all back into the jar and put the lid on (SCOBY is out at this point). Stick it back in your warm spot, and leave it for 1-2 more days for the second ferment. It will take on the flavor of the fruit, and will also become carbonated. If you have trouble getting it carbonated, make sure the jar is filled with kombucha to within 1/2" from the top. This will help it to carbonate better.
Here it is with the fruit in it.

Because wine glasses make everything taste better, I try to drink my kombucha from a wine glass.

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